Pianoforte-keyboard.



PATENTED JUNE 30, 1903.

F. L. HARMON. 'PIANOFORTE KEYBOARD. v APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 4,

H0 MODEL.

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Inventor Witnesses.

UNITED STATES Patented June 30, 1903.

- PATENT OFFICE.

PlANOFORTE-KEYBOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 732,688, dated June 30, 1903.

Application filed June 4, 1902. Serial No. 110,239. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK L. HARMON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Pianoforte Keyboard, of which the following is a specification.

The wide surfaces to be struck by the fingers of the white keys of an ordinary pianoforte are seven-eighths of an inch wide, and the surfaces to be struck by the fingers of the black keys are about three-eighths of an inch wide. It is necessary that the white keys be narrower than seven-eighths of an inch in order that childrens hands may encompass more keys than heretofore and therefore play the chords of ordinary music easier than heretofore and in order that adults may play the complicated chords in music with less difficulty than heretofore, but if the keys be constructed the same and each key narrowed one-eighth of an inch the black keys must also be narrowed one-eighth of an inch in order that the fingers may strike the white keys between the black keys, and as the black keys would then be only one-fourth of an inch wide the increased difficulty of correctly and rapidly striking the narrowed black keys would be greater than the advantage gained by narrowing the white keys.

Nevertheless the object of my invention is to improve pianofortes by providing a new keyboard therefor, the keys of which are made as follows, viz: Each one of the keys C, D, E, F, G, &c., is so made that apart of its surface to be struck by the fingers is higher than another part of its surface to be struck by the fingers, and each one of the keys (3 5;, Dfi, Ffi, Gfi, 850., is so made that its surface to be struck by the fingers is higher than the lower part of the surface of each of the keys (1, D, E, F, G, &c., to be struck by the fingers, but not as high as the higher part of the surfaces of the keys C,D,E, F, G, &c., to be struck by the fingers, in order that the surfaces to be struck on the keys 05, DE, Ffi, Gfi, &c., may be made as wide as the surfaces to be struck on the keys 0, D, E, F, G, &c., in order to insure more correct and rapid manipulation of the keys Ofi, Dfi, Ff}, GE, &c., andin order that the surfaces to be struck of all the keys may be made narrower than the widest surfaces to be struck of the keys 0, D, E, F,G, &c., in an ordinary piano in order that the hand may encompass more keys and manipulate all the keys more correctly and rapidly than in an ordinary piano.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of enough of the new keys of the new keyboard as they appear in a piano to disclose this invention, and Fig. 2 is afront elevation of these keys.

As the surfaces to be struck of the keys 0, D, E, F, G, &c., in the new keyboard are narrower than in an ordinary piano and as the surfaces to best ruck of the keys Cfi, Dfi, F11,-

Gfi, &c., shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are about twice as wide as the surfaces to be struck of keys Cfi, D14, Ffi, Gfl, &c. in an ordinary piano, the new keyboard admits of more correct and rapid manipulation of all the keys than has been insured heretofore. When the palm of the hand is in front of the front ends of the surfaces to be struck of the keys 0, D, E, F, G, 850., (shown at the bottom of Fig. 1,) the elevation of which surfaces is shown in Fig. 2, the fingers are in position to strike the broad surfaces to be struck of the keys 0, D, E, F, G, &c., and also to strike various broad surfaces of keys Ofi, Dfi, F11, Gfi, &c., to be struck, and also shown in Fig. 1, without moving the position of the hand, and when the palm of the hand is over the lower part of the surfaces to be struck of the keys 0, D, E, F, G, &c., (shown at the lower part of Fig. 1,) the elevation of which surfaces is shown in Fig. 2, the fingers are in position to strike the broad surfaces to be struck of the keys Ofi, DE, Ffi, Gt}, due, and also upper and lower parts of surfaces to be struck of the keys 0, D, E, F, G, &c., (shown in Fig. 1,) the respective elevations of which surfaces are shown 'in Fig. 2, without moving the position of the new keyboard are combined with a soundproducing apparatus, and as the utility of my invention is attained by combining the new keys or keyboard with a sound-producing apparatus I claim as follows:

1. A keyboard comprising a row of keys, having two fingering-surfaces, one higher than the other, and for representing all the notes in the scales of 0 natural; and also comprising a row of keys having one fingering-surface, at an elevation between said elevations, and for representing the notes outside .of the scales of 0 natural. 

